Creekside approved along Banks Road in Long Neck
A rezoning to MR-1, multifamily residential, and a conditional-use application for 116 mixed residential units have been approved for cluster subdivision Creekside.
Located on a 31-acre parcel at 25071 Banks Road in Long Neck, Creekside contains 41 single-family condominiums and 75 multifamily units. The developer is Rudder Road LLC.
Making a motion to approve the plan at the March 5 Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, Commissioner Gregory Scott Collins said the project complies with the county’s future land-use plan in the coastal area where a variety of housing types are permitted, including medium- and high-density units, and it’s located near a major collector road where central water and sewer are available.
Collins noted that the Delaware Department of Transportation considers the traffic impact as minor. Access off Banks Road will be improved with 11-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders.
Plans include a walking path, pool, clubhouse, 30-foot vegetated perimeter buffer, sidewalks on both sides of all streets, 12 acres of open space and a 100-foot buffer of existing forest adjacent to tidal wetlands along Guinea Creek, which borders the property.
Other improvements are planned along Banks Road to be funded by the developer of Keystone Bay, a 675-lot subdivision on 311 acres, which was approved by the commission in April 2024.
A buffer of 30 feet will be placed between Creekside and the adjacent Creek’s End community that does not have perimeter buffers. Houses would be built at least 50 feet from the property line.
Among the proposed amenities is a community dock on Guinea Creek with 25 boat slips and a kayak launch. State permits would be required to construct the dock.
To support affordable housing efforts in the county, the developer offered to donate $3,500 for each building permit to affordable housing efforts such as the Sussex County Housing Trust Fund for a total of $406,000 at buildout.
In addition, the developer will donate $500 per permit to the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company for a total of $58,000.
Each homeowner in Creekside would be required to donate $10 per month to the fire company.
An abandoned building on the property was the former DuPont Friendship School for African American students, which served the community from 1922 through the 1950s. No one has expressed interest in the building, so it will be razed. The developer will erect a historic sign to commemorate the school.
